Shinobi In Magvel
by Tactition101
Summary: It's been one year since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. Naruto and Sakura, along with Team 8 have been sent after a Zetsu clone that managed to go to ground and has now come out and is beginning to cause havoc. But what they don't know is that this clone has a certain implanted dojutsu and a plan to use it.
1. Chapter 1

Shinobi In Magvel

1\. Unplanned Traveling

Summary: It's been one year since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. Naruto and Sakura, along with Team 8 have been sent after a Zetsu clone that managed to go to ground and has now come out and is beginning to cause havoc. But what they don't know is that this clone has a certain implanted dojutsu and a plan to use it.

Story Start: Elemental Nations, Land of Fire

Anyone who had plans of strolling through the forest twenty miles south east of the Land of Fire shinobi outpost designated Tori 3 would have rather quickly changed them today. The reason for that became rather clear when a shout of "Rasenshuriken!" filled the air before an explosion took a chunk out of the nearby forest. Smoke was already rising into the air all over the place and the explosion just added to it.

In the battle made clearing, a glowing Naruto Uzumaki frowned into the new dust cloud he had made and said "I can't believe this, we've been pounding everything we have at this bastard for the past hour and he's still not dead!" He heard Kurama, his tailed beast partner who was sealed inside him growl in frustration. Their target was seriously beginning to piss the big guy off.

"Yea, this guy should be dead twenty times over by now!" Kiba Inuzuka said and his ninja hound partner Akamaru barked in agreement.

"He is a very frustrating opponent." His Aburame teammate, Shino, said.

"Stay sharp guys. I'm sure he's not just sitting there laughing at us. Where is he Hinata?" Sakura Haruno ordered before directing her question at the final Leaf Shinobi in the area. She couldn't help the slight smirk that crossed her lips as her blond teammate stepped closer to her and muttered "Might not be sitting, but I bet he's laughing, plant zombie bastard."

Hinata Hyuga did her best to ignore that comment even if she secretly agreed and instead continued examining her surroundings. Her Byakugan had been engaged for a full hour now but she was still going strong thanks to the rather unorthodox training in it she got from having it on almost constantly during the fourth war. Having rather quickly spotted their target after Naruto's Rasenshuriken went off, she frowned as she said "He's underground again. Fifty feet from the edge of where Naruto's attack hit. But it's weird, he's just sitting down there." Frowning, she said "And he is laughing at us."

Despite the situation, Naruto and Kiba couldn't help but snicker a little at that while Sakura and Shino both joined Hinata in frowning.

 _Before we go further, let's go back a little so you all aren't hopelessly lost._

Flashback: Twenty Four Hours Earlier, Village Hidden In The Leaves, Hokage's Office

Naruto, Sakura, and Team 8 stood in front of the Hokage's desk as Tsunade wrote in a mission scroll and explained their mission.

"We've received reports that a Zetsu clone that managed to survive has begun causing massive property damage along the north west border. Team 8, your mission is to track it down and along with Sakura provide backup for Naruto who will be the primary combatant when it comes time to fight it. I want this thing deader than a doorknob and properly disposed of when you're done." Tossing the now finished scroll at her student who easily caught it, she said "Show that to the base commander at Tori 3, and inform him that he is to offer any assistance to your mission that you require. Dismissed."

Her shinobi all gave a salute before they filed out of the office with determination in their eyes. Those Zetsu clones had been a menace a year ago and any of them that survived had to be put down as soon as possible.

Flashback End

 _Which is why five Hidden Leaf Shinobi and one Inuzuka nin hound were currently tearing the forest around them apart._

"Naruto, get ready, I'm going to send this guy flying." Sakura said as she ran through hand signs before she shouted "Earth Style: Rising Earth Excavation Jutsu!" Sakura slapped the ground with both hands and Hinata remembered the first opening move against the Zetsu clones in the war as their current enemy was thrown out of the ground. Next to her, Naruto was already finishing his own hand signs as he called out "Wind Style: Wind Dragon Horde Jutsu!"

Immediately after his shout, five wind dragons formed around him before all five roared at once and shot at their target. Naruto smirked in satisfaction as all five hit their target at the same time marking the first time they had actually been able to hit their target with anything more than kunai. And the Zetzu clone's screams of pain as he fell back to the ground were definitely helping his stress levels as well.

"Yeah! Finally got the bastard!" Kiba shouted with a feral grin on his face.

But then the one-of-the-whiteness began laughing, even as he began bleeding out and coughing up blood.

Naruto and Sakura traded a wary glance with each other as both felt their shinobi senses go haywire as Kiba asked "And just what do you find so funny pasty boy?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just my two targets happen to finally be together." The clone said before he turned his right hand so that it was palm up and a fully activated Mangekyo Sharingan was suddenly there and already spinning. Naruto's eyes widened and he said "Shit!" He grabbed Sakura but before he could get out of the way they were both pulled into a vortex portal.

"Naruto!" Hinata shouted even as Shino's bugs swarmed the clone. Kiba snarled as he stomped over and jerked the clone up to his eye level and growled out "Bring them BACK!"

The clone coughed one last time as he grinned and said "Sorry. But that was a one way ticket." His eyes then rolled backwards and he went still and the tracking team didn't need any medical training to know he was gone. Kiba snarled but before he could do anything rash with the body, Shino said "We must get that Sharingan to Tsunade as quickly as possible. Why? Because each Sharingan has its own unique pocket dimension. We may be able to get them back, but we will need that eye in order to do so."

"Shino's right. But we have to hurry. We don't know what the dimension Naruto and Sakura have been sent to is like. For all we know, they could have been dropped into a desert without any food or water." Hinata said already preparing a stasis scroll.

Kiba growled for a moment before he nodded and said "You guys are right. Let's seal this bastard and get back to the village."

Scene Change: Location: Unknown, Time: Five Minutes Before Mangekyo Activation.

There is a place where space and time reside, where they keep an eye on all creations under the direction of their own creator. This place is at once everywhere, and nowhere. And it is here where two shinobi were about to have their roles in a country without any begin.

" _ **Time, Space, what is our status?"**_ a robed figure asked as he stepped into a room that resembled an MTAC. Nothing could be seen of him due to the cloak he wore that was decorated with yin yang symbols, alpha omega runes, and countless other beginning and end and balance symbols. In front of him working at computer terminals in front of a large plasma screen were two other figures, both also wearing cloaks. The one on the first figure's left had a cloak decorated by what looked like several galaxies while the one on the right wore a cloak decorated with every kind of clock imaginable.

" **I've locked onto the spatial signatures of both the Elemental Nations and Magvel. When our two travelers begin their trip I'll be ready to set their final coordinates."** The figure on the left said.

" _Which will be in four minutes, fifty nine seconds, and fifteen milliseconds. I am ready to set their final coordinates as well."_ The one on the right reported.

" _ **Good. Once they've arrived monitor that Sharingan and calibrate the time ratio so that way our two soldiers have enough time to complete their mission."**_ The first man said before a holographic screen appeared before him and he began typing in commands as he said _**"I will make sure that they get the needed information when they arrive. Inform me of when they do so."**_ The screen disappeared and he began walking out.

" _ **Yes sir."**_ Both men replied before they heard the door shut. Time looked over to his coworker and said _"I still don't understand why the boss wants to send those two to Magvel."_

Space shrugged and said **"Neither do I, but if the boss wants to give those two blue haired tykes out of the box assistance for some reason, then who are we to disagree?"**

" _True."_ Time said before Space's monitor flashed and both leaned forward a little and began rapidly typing as he said **"Alright, here we go. Sharingan just went from inert to Mangekyo and is powering up the wormhole to Magvel."** _"Intercepting wormhole, and redirecting to proper time coordinates."_ **"Redirecting final spatial coordinates to the borders of the Kingdoms of Renais and Frelia and two miles east of Fortress Renvall in the Empire of Grado."**

Time put a finger to his right ear and said _"Sir, our travelers are arriving in three, two, one. They have arrived sir."_

" _ **Understood. Keep up the good work gentlemen."**_ Their boss said before both of them felt him tweak the 'personal bubbles' around the two shinobi. Leaning back into his chair, Space said **"And now we wait."**

Scene Change: Magvel, Renaisian/Frelian Border

A swirling vortex appeared two feet above the ground and a glowing figure dropped out of it and onto the ground with a loud "Oomph!" Naruto sprung to his feet and looked around where he had been spent. It took him less than a split second to see that his teammate was not with him and he began panicking as he wondered why she wasn't with him. That worry was put on hold as a voice that carried more power than the blond had ever encountered said _**"Your partner is fine Mr. Uzumaki. She was just sent to the location where she is needed. As have you."**_

Naruto turned around and his eyebrow raised as he said "Uh-huh. And where is this location exactly? And for that matter who are you?"

The figure chuckled and just the sound of it held power as the figure said _**"Who I am is unimportant Mr. Uzumaki. But as for where you are, you are on the border of the countries Renais and Frelia, which are on the continent of Magvel. I have had you brought here to protect the princess of Renais. Your partner is to be tasked with her brother the prince in the country of Grado. This packet has all of the information that you will need for your mission."**_

Naruto caught the scroll that the figure tossed him and unrolled it a little while keeping an eye on the figure. Seeing the storage seals on it, he rose an eyebrow and said "Looks like a lot of information."

" _ **It is. But I'm sure it's nothing an hour's worth of reading with your clones can't handle. Now, you will be interested to know that once you and your partner have finished this mission, you both will be sent back to your village with a Long Term S-Rank mission pay for both of you, which should be ample compensation."**_ The figure brought its left arm up and pushed back the sleeve on the cloak to reveal what Naruto assumed was some kind of watch. The figure gave a small hum as he saw whatever the device showed before he lowered the arm and said _**"I'm afraid that I am on a bit of a tight schedule Mr. Uzumaki, so I must now leave. Do take care of yourself please."**_

Naruto frowned and was about ask the figure just who he thought he was for dropping him who knows where but his eyes widened as the figure suddenly disappeared without a trace. Dropping his cloak, Naruto thought 'Kurama, do you have any idea what's going on?'

' **None whatsoever kid. Better look at that scroll though.'**

Naruto sighed and did as told while thinking 'I hope Sakura is alright.'

Scene Change: Two Miles East Of Fortress Renvall

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment before she looked at the scroll the strange man had given her. Opening it, her eyes trailed down the scroll for a moment before five minutes later her eyes widened as she thought 'You have got to be kidding me.' Applying chakra to one of the five storage seals at the end of the scroll, she looked at the personnel profile folder that came out of it and opened the file. A blue haired young man stared back at her and she thought 'This prince Ephraim is either a very good tactician or very lucky. Four men including him causing so much havoc with just hit and run tactics.' Grinning, she thought 'Sounds like Naruto whenever he gets into one of his grand pranking moods.' Looking to the south, she said to herself "Well, best go find him then."

Time Skip: Two Hours Later, Renaisian/Freliean Border

Princess Eirika of Renais could only look at the corpse of the Grado soldier she had just killed. It had been in self defense, but she couldn't help but watch the fight play over and over again in her head even as the thought 'I killed him, I just cut him down.' kept repeating itself. Unknown to her, the man's leader had seen the action and was coming to take her head off and Seth was busy fighting the other two members of the search party who were awfully good at protecting each other.

The leader's war cry managed to jerk her out of her funk though and she looked up just in time to see the man raise his axe. Her eyes widened and she brought her rapier up to try and block the axe only for her eyes to widen even further when the man suddenly fell to the ground with a strange knife in the back of his head. A shout of pain drew her attention to Seth's fight and she saw one of his opponents fall to the ground with another knife in his leg which gave Seth the opportunity to finish both off.

As soon as Seth finished off his opponents, he instantly dismounted his horse and went to Princess Eirika's side and said "Princess, are you alright?"

"Not likely since it looks like she just made her first kill."

Seth spun to the side and saw a yellow haired teen who looked to be the same age as his princess walk out of the nearby woods. The man was wearing clothes that were very strange to the general and he did not recognize the symbol on the metal plate he had across his forehead. Moving in front of his charge and holding his lance in a defensive posture, he said "Who are you?"

The blond frowned and said "This how you thank everyone who gives you a hand?"

"You'll forgive me for being a little suspicious considering what has just happened." Seth said.

He heard his charge shift behind him and the blonde's frown grew as he looked past him to her. Seth blinked and suddenly the blond was behind him turning the princess around so that way she didn't throw up on the two dead bodies she had been looking at. The blond sighed before he walked over to the Grado Soldier he had killed and pulled his strange knife out and walked over to his second knife and pulled it out as well and began cleaning both as he came back to the two Renais citizens.

Seth frowned as he watched him and said "You still haven't answered my question." 'And I would really like to know how he moved so fast.'

"The name is Naruto Uzumaki." Pointing to the princess who was beginning to hyperventilate, he said "I think you should be more worried about her. She's going into shock and from the looks of things it is not going to be pretty."

Seth frowned but turned his attention to his charge knowing that the blond was right. Naruto sighed again as he watched the red haired man talk to the princess and thought 'I really hope she doesn't end up like this after every fight.' He frowned as he sensed very strong negative emotions coming from the south and Kurama said **"Naruto, we need to get moving."**

"Right." Naruto said catching both princess and general's attention. Turning to them, he said "We need to get moving, more troops are coming." Walking over to the two, he bowed to the princess and said "Your Highness, I know you have no reason to trust me, but please know that I intend you no harm and that I have been assigned the mission of protecting you."

Seth frowned at the blond and said "Assigned by who?"

The blond rose from his bow and said "Good question, one which I have absolutely no idea of how to answer." Seth was about to ask him what the hell he meant by that, if worded a little differently considering present company, when the blond made a weird hand sign and said "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Eight clouds of smoke appeared around the blond and both Eirika and Seth's eyes widened at the perfect copies of the blond appeared. Naruto smirked at their shocked looks before he turned to his clones and said "Make false trails then head back south for recon. Dispel at sunset." The clones nodded before they split up into two man groups and began their work. The original turned to his new charge and her knight and said "Is there a reason why you two are just standing there?" Head jerking to the general's horse, he said "You two need to get on that horse if we're going to reach the Mulan Border Fortress before sunset."

Eirika nodded and began walking over to the horse but Seth narrowed his eyes and said "And how do you plan on keeping up?"

The blond grinned and said "I'm a ninja general. I don't need a horse." He then turned and shot forward shocking his two new companions when he reached the bridge that was a good thousand feet from them in less than a minute before he turned around and waved at them.

Eirika and Seth traded looks of amazement before Seth said "The boy is right, we need to get moving." The two mounted and Seth made the horse gallop towards the bridge as he thought 'But mark my words Naruto Uzumaki, you will tell me just what you have planned.'

As the two caught up with him, Naruto began running. He waited until they were across the bridge before he said "I can understand you mistrusting me General, but you should know that I honestly hold no ill intentions towards either of you."

Seth frowned but just as he was about to say something, Eirika asked "Sir Naruto? I do not recognize your accent. What country are you from?"

Naruto chuckled and said "Please don't call me sir ma'am, I'm only a Chunnin. But to answer your question Your Highness, I'm from the Land of Fire, which is in the Elemental Nations. Good luck finding it on the map though since it's nowhere near Magvel."

"So it is across the great ocean. But what is a Chunnin?" Seth asked wanting to get as much information from their traveling partner as he could.

Naruto cocked his head in thought as he considered what he should tell them. When he considered that he would be with them long term, he decided to explain the Elemental Nations as best as he could. Taking a deep breath, he said "If we're going to be working together then you're going to have to know about where I come from. Alright, the Elemental Nations is a place where Shinobi, or Ninja, are the primary military power. We are based in what are known as hidden villages."

Scene Change: Mulan Border Fortress

Naruto took one look at the area around the small fortress and the friendly air around him immediately switched to one hundred percent soldier mode causing Eirika to stiffen in surprise and Seth to nod in grudging respect for the young man standing beside him. Naruto's explanation of his home continent had eased Seth's concerns about the boy somewhat although he still didn't like the fact that the kid didn't know who it was who had assigned him to protect the princess and sent him over to Magvel.

Naruto reached into his jacket and pulled a scroll out of one of the inside pockets which he preferred having instead of a Chunnin vest due to the fact that an opponent couldn't get to them if they fought him in Taijutsu. Rolling it open, he unsealed a pair of binoculars surprising his two companions and brought them up to his eyes. Scanning the area around him, he said "Looks like those soldiers that were after you weren't the only ones in the area. They've already secured the fortress, looks like seven of them counting the knight at the gate." Resealing the binoculars, he said "Shouldn't take long to get rid of them. But there's no idea how many are actually inside the fortress, and if the left any of the soldiers alive in there then this could get messy if they use them as hostages."

Turning to Eirika, he said "Your highness, with your permission, I'd like to take care of the guys outside by myself while you stay here where it is safe. We can then move onto the inside of the fort and rescue any hostages."

The princess frowned as she said "I don't like this. We should help you fight."

Naruto chuckled and said "Your Highness, I am literally a one man army. The day I need help handling only seven enemies that aren't at least B-ranked is the day the death god Lord Shinigami begins running the maternity ward of a hospital."

Eirika's frown grew before she sighed and gave a reluctant nod. Naruto grinned and said "Then watch and learn, so that you will know what orders to give when it comes time for the serious fights."

"You don't consider this a serious fight?" Seth asked with a frown of his own forming on his face.

Naruto snorted and said "After what I saw during the Fourth Shinobi War last year? Not a chance in hell. Well, time to get to work." Turning around, the blond shot off down the hill they were on. As he made his way down, he saw the knight at the gate barking orders and the soldiers under his command beginning to run towards him. Grinning, he thought 'Looks like they're coming to us. Makes our job all the easier.' He heard Kurama humming in agreement before his hands flashed through hand signs and he said "Wind Style: Wind Sword Jutsu."

Pulling his hands apart and gripping the two swords in his hands, he called out "So which one of you poor fools is first?" One of the soldiers, a big burly guy using an axe apparently took more offense to this than the others. He gave a loud battle cry and increased his pace. Naruto grinned even as he poured chakra to his legs to go even faster causing everyone watching to gain wide eyes as he appeared inside his first opponent's guard and sliced straight through the handle of his opponent's axe with his left hand sword before spinning around the Grado soldier and knocked him out with an elbow strike to the back of the neck with his right arm.

Next up was one of the lance bearing soldiers who tried to skewer him as he got close only for Naruto to slice the lance straight down the middle before he jumped into the man's guard and slammed a round house kick into the man's neck right at the shoulder joint sending him to skid along the ground already unconscious. Using the momentum of the kick to spin out of the way of a second axe wielder's wild swing, he cut that weapon in half before he sliced the tendon's in the man's arms and legs causing him to drop to the floor screaming in pain before a strike to the head silenced him. Turning around to face the other four opponents, he grinned at the sight of their eyes looking at his hands and the green wind chakra that formed swords with a wariness that spoke volumes of how low they believed their chances were.

Holding his arms out, Naruto's grin turned to the particularly evil setting of when he was about to utterly humiliate someone as he said "I'm feeling generous guys. So why don't I get rid of the wind swords of doom and you guys actually give me a challenge?" Said wind swords of doom burst apart into gusts of wind that ruffled the blonde's hair. The four soldiers each traded looks before two of the lance-men both charged at him while the axe man moved to get him from behind. Naruto sighed, before he said "Still no fun." He then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the lances and used them to pick up the surprised soldiers and proceeded to slam them together hard enough for their heads to collide with a rather worrying cracking sound. He then dropped them before spinning around and slammed a palm strike into the axe man's forehead knocking him unconscious and sending him flying. He then sidestepped the thrust towards his back from the last soldier before he bent at the waist and slammed his foot into the other man's jaw sending him flying. He hit the ground just as the blond straightened.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the knight who was still at the gate over a hundred yards away and smirked as he actually heard that the man's armor was rattling around a little. Turning to fully face him, Naruto said "Hey Kurama, want to really screw with this guy's head?"

" **Do you really have to ask?"** Kurama asked with a dark chuckle.

"Nope, but manners dictate I do anyway." Naruto said before he went through hand signs and shouted out "Wind Style: Grand Wind Dragon Jutsu!" The wind around Naruto swirled above him before it formed a ten meter long wind dragon with glowing green eyes. The knight's rattling got even louder before the dragon drew back and roared its might to the heavens before it shot forward and slammed into the knight's position.

Back on the hilltop, Princess and General both jumped as the jutsu slammed into the knight and a huge dust cloud erupted. When it finally cleared, Eirika gasped at the sight of a ten foot crater in front of the gate and no sign of the knight while Seth cursed under his breath as he thought 'I am _really_ glad this kid is on our side. Still, I got to wonder why only killed the leader and left everybody else unconscious.'

Opposite of the pair, another pair of figures stared at the devastation with wide eyes and both thought 'Where in the world did the princess and general find this guy?' They both stiffened as the blond turned to look straight at them and grinned before he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted "Oi! Knight and Cavalier! You done staring or what?"


	2. Chapter 2

2\. Adding To The Party

After Naruto's rather impressive demonstration, the insides of Fort Mulan were quickly secured. The group was quick in freeing the prisoners Grado had taken among the surviving Frelian soldiers, including a very unexpected one.

As soon as she was out of her prison cell, Princess Tana bowed a little to Gilliam and said "Sir Gilliam…I'm sorry, I never meant to cause you such trouble."

Gilliam gave a dismissive wave as he said "It was no trouble. I live to serve Princess."

"Tana!" Eirika called as she rapidly came towards the two after she had seen her from down the corridor where she had been helping a Frelian soldier that had a rather worrying looking cut on his forehead.

"Eirika?! Is that really you?" Tana asked in surprise even as she accepted the hard hug her friend gave her when the bluenette all but rammed her with how fast she darted over.

"Tana, what are you doing so far from Castle Felia?" Eirika asked as she ended her hug and looked into Tana's eyes in confusion.

Tana frowned as she said "I heard that Renais had fallen, and I was so worried…But I'm glad to see that you're safe…Wait! Where is Ephraim? Is he well?"

Eirika looked downcast as she said "I wish I knew."

Tana adopted the same look as she said "You haven't heard from him? Oh, I hope he's not been harmed."

"If my teammate was sent to look after him like I was for Princess Eirika then I don't think you have much to worry about. She is the student of one of the best medic-nin around after all." Naruto said as he came closer to the two."

"I see, that's a relief." Tana said with a smile before she slightly frowned and said "I'm sorry to be rude, but who are you? It's just that you have an accent I've never heard before and used a term that I am not familiar with."

"Naruto Uzumaki, at your service." Naruto said giving an overelaborate bow causing the two princesses to giggle despite themselves. Coming up from his bow, Naruto continued "I'm what's called a shinobi, and I was hired to keep Princess Eirika safe on her travels."

"I see." Tana said assuming that it was King Fado who did the hiring before shaking her head and said "Come, Eirika, we must go to Castle Frelia. My lord father must be told of your escape and continued good health."

Eirika gave an accepting nod and once all of the soldiers were tended to and back at their posts, the small party containing two princesses, two Renaisian knights, a Frelian knight and a Shinobi made for Castle Frelia.

Scene Change: Frelia Castle's Throne Room

Eirika's group was quickly shown to the throne room, and Naruto had seen sheer relief on the face of everyone they passed once they laid eyes on their princess. King Hayden himself looked like he lost two tons of weight from his shoulders and his eyes considerably brightened with relief at the sight of her.

"Oh Tana…I'm grateful to see that you're safe and home again! You've no idea how I worried when I heard you were under attack at Border Mulan. You are not to leave again without my permission. Do you understand?" The king asked, though the way he said it made it clear he expected nothing but an affirmative from his daughter.

Tana though seemed perfectly fine with not giving that affirmative as she smiled 'innocently' and said "Don't be mad, Father. Look, I come bearing good news. Eirika! Come out now!"

Eirika and her group stepped into the throne room and walked over to the throne. Once in front everyone, including Naruto (He HAD matured from his irrespective twelve-year-old self after all), bowed for a moment before rising as Eirika said "King Hayden, I am pleased to see you again, even in these sad times."

Hayden's eyes lit up a little more as he said "Ah, Eirika! It does my heart good to see you safe."

"Thank you. I was able to escape the castle before Renais fell. But I'm not sure if my father…" Eirika said before trailing off sadly.

Hayden frowned as he said "Yes. I…have received word of your father."

Eirika looked up with hopeful eyes as she asked "Your Highness? Please tell me. Is my father well?"

Hayden looked down as he said "…My friend King Fado…did not survive the fall of Renais Castle."

Eirika gasped and seemed to sink on herself as she said "No, it cannot be…"

"Rest assured, Grado will be punished for its cowardly act. This is Frelia's promise. Eirika, please stay here and rest. I cannot imagine how exhausted you must be." Hayden said, taking in Eirika's tired looking form for a second time with compassion in his eyes. Naruto let out a soft hum from the back but didn't say anything.

When Eirika didn't say anything, Seth stepped forward and asked "King Hayden. You know of Prince Ephraim's disappearance, do you not?"

Hayden gave a hum of acknowledgement as he said "Yes, we hear the prince and his men hound Grado at every turn. It's said that he's led his forces into the empire itself. Reports suggest he's crossed the border and now fights in Renvall."

"My brother…He fights on? Even Now?" Eirika asked, hope shining in her eyes.

Hayden nodded and said "Yes. My Pegasus knights bought this information at a great price. Even though Renais has fallen, he charges into the enemy's heart. He is truly Fado's son… What a valiant youth. I wish I knew whether he remains unharmed, but I do not."

Naruto chose this time to speak up as he said "Even if he was harmed, I doubt he is now." Seeing he had Hayden's attention on him, he continued "My teammate Sakura was sent to him at the same time I was sent to guard Princess Eirika and is one of the best healers my village has. It would greatly surprise me if Prince Ephraim's party has anything greater than a paper cut by now."

"Indeed?" King Hayden asked with slightly raised eyebrows before his attention was drawn to Eirika as she said "King Hayden, I thank you for your offer, but I cannot stay. I intend to ride to my brother's side with reinforcements."

Hayden frowned and said "I cannot allow it. I know how you feel, but this plan is suicide. I would be betraying Fado's memory if I allowed any harm to befall you. Stay here. Rest and mourn. Leave this war to the warriors."

Eirika matched his frown and countered "I know you mean well, Your Majesty. However, I have lost my father, and my twin brother is in possible peril, almost surely greatly outnumbered. My brother, he is a part of me… I cannot rest here in peace while he risks his life."

Hayden's frown grew more severe as he said "No. Renais has no more army. Grado's forces decimated it. I wish Frelia could provide you with support, with soldiers, but… My son, Innes, is on his way to meet the empire's forces. We cannot spare a single brigade. Your own retinue of knights cannot possibly face Grado alone. Are you so determined to go?"

It was Naruto who answered, not Eirika as his snort drew everyone's attention once more to the blond. Giving a chuckle that sent chills down everyone else's spines, the Jinchuuriki said "So you claim a lack of manpower is the reason you withhold your blessing? Well then, how's this for manpower?" He surged his chakra and there was a large smoke cloud behind him. When it cleared, there were a hundred more blonds in the throne room than there had been before causing everyone else to have wide eyes. Seth's eyes were the widest as he thought 'He can make that many copies of himself?! Good god, what crazy person tried to declare war on a group of people capable of that?'

After a moment to recollect herself, Eirika turned back to Hayden and said "I trust this will assuage your fears Your Highness?

Hayden sighed and said "…As resolute as your father, eh? Still, even with your newfound access to more men, it would not do for me to not contribute to your endeavor. Vanessa."

"Here, Your Highness!" a green haired Pegasus called as she stepped forward.

"Moulder." Hayden called and a brown haired and mustached monk stepped forward as he said "You called, my king?"

"Gilliam." The king called and the knight stepped forward to join the other two as he asked "Yes, sire?"

Hayden studied the three as he said "You are to accompany Princess Eirika of Renais into Grado territory. I expect each of you to provide aid and support for her brother." The three nodded while giving the knight's salute and Hayden looked at Eirika as he continued "These are some of my most trusted and stalwart vassals. They will, no doubt, prove themselves quite valuable on your journey. Remember, you are venturing behind enemy lines. You will need supplies. I will have a supply convoy readied to carry your weapons and provisions. It will remain at your side, no matter how far afield you venture."

Eirika looked surprised at the last part as she said "King Hayden, I… Thank you."

Hayden shook his head and said "No, save your thanks for your return… with your brother, Prince Ephraim."

"Yes, Your highness!" Eirika said with a smile.

As the group left the throne room Tana had a frown on her face as she said "Eirika, you don't really intend to go through with this, do you? I can't guess how you must feel, but it's just too dangerous. What would happen if you were captured by Grado's men?"

Eirika gave her a reassuring smile and put her hand on Tana's shoulder as she said "Thank you for your concern, Tana. But I have no choice. Don't you see, Tana? I have to go."

Tana's frown remained on her face though as she said "Eirika… Oh, why is this happening? What's gone wrong with the world?"

"Tana…" Eirika started but Tana had more to say as she continued "Why would Grado invade? Emperor Vigarde is a man of peace. His people adore him. And you and Ephraim are friends with Prince Lyon, are you not? What could be behind this madness? Why is this happening…"

Eirika sighed as she said "I have no answers for you, Tana. I don't want to believe it, but the reality is that we are at war. If I do nothing, I may lose my brother as well as my father. This is why I have to fight. It's the only answer I have."

Naruto remained silent although he cocked his head as he considered the two princesses to all of the other members of royalty he had protected before.

END


	3. Chapter 3

3\. The Protected

Story Start: Renais, Near Ide

Eirika's group had been making good time. Having a shinobi capable of creating an army of himself meant that they could have a secure corridor to travel down without having to worry about Grado forces ambushing them or their new supply train. Naruto had his clones spread out to cover a quarter mile wide perimeter around the whole group and so was the first to notice when the Princess' group ran into their first hurdle.

Naruto suddenly blinked before he scowled and said "Princess Eirika, there are bandits attacking nearby settlements."

"Bandits?!" Eirika asked in alarm.

Moulder hummed as he said "We have arrived at our first dilemma. We must move quickly and attract as little attention as possible, but…"

Eirika finished that sentence as she said "But I cannot stand by and watch innocents be harmed." Turning to Naruto, she continued "Naruto, how fare the villagers?"

Naruto's scowl grew a bit as he said "My clones have already found ten bodies. There's also a kid rather badly harmed. My clones have already engaged the bandits but it appears that this is quite a large group, and there are two more settlement areas under threat." A hundred more clones appeared around Naruto before blurring out of sight as they shot off to help the other settlements.

Eirika's eyes showed her horror at already being too late to help some of her citizens but they hardened as she turned to Moulder and said "Father Moulder, can your staff help the boy?"

Moulder frowned and said "Well, yes, I can heal his injuries with my staff, but… I cannot do it from here. He's too far away. I must be near him."

Vanessa moved her Pegasus closer, most likely to offer her services but Naruto was way ahead of her as he said "My clones are bringing most of the survivors to the closest untouched settlement, the boy and his father are being brought here though." Glancing at Seth out of the corner of his eye, he continued "My clones can keep the settlements safe your highness. I suggest as soon as the boy is healed we continue on our way dealing with the bandits as we go. If we're lucky, then we can find out where their hideout is and clear that out as well."

Seth's nod was mirrored by Eirika's determined one as she said "I agree to your plan Naruto, I will not allow these bandits to terrorize my people any longer."

Not an instant the words were out of her mouth, every non-shinobi there flinched in surprise as a vortex of leaves appeared in their midst before dying down revealing two clones standing next to an _extremely_ well-built man and a much more normal appearing but still slightly muscular teenager who was obviously his son going by hair and eye color. The boy shook his head and said "Man, that was weird." He let out a short yelp as his head shake made him lose his footing but the clone who had escorted him kept him from falling to the ground earning a weak "Thanks."

The man though took a quick glance around before his eyes zeroed on Moulder and he quickly walked over to him and a gave a brief but no less respectful bow as he said "Father, please heal my boy, he's been badly wounded."

"Axe blow to the left shoulder." One of the clones said helpfully as he pointed at the blood-soaked bandage on said teenagers left side.

Without so much as a twitch at all of the blood, Moulder strode forward with his staff glowing and efficiently removed the bandages before he pressed it to the boy's shoulder. The glow intensified for nearly a full minute before it dimmed and Moulder hummed as he looked at his staff and said to himself "Half a charge left, that was a rather severe injury."

"Thank you Father, I do not know what I would have done if I had lost my son." The man said and Moulder said something in reply that Naruto didn't catch, the blond having stiffened in shock.

Seeing this, Eirika gently touched his shoulder and said "Naruto, is something wrong?" She then hastily added "Besides the bandit problem I mean."

Naruto slowly turned his head towards Eirika and said "One of my clones just got paid a red gem to protect the villagers by a Grado General."

Eirika gasped in surprise while Seth almost fell off his horse in shock as he quickly twisted around to look at him fully and said "It was what?!" His surprise, and rather acute alarm, was understandable, a Grado General, HERE, NOW?! They were lucky whoever it was hadn't seen Eirika yet or they'd have been in for a fight of their lives. And even if they did manage to beat them, but the general managed to escape, then Grado would probably send battalions after them.

"Yeah, that was my thought too. Apparently General Selena was called back to the capital but didn't believe that the villagers should suffer simply because there were no soldiers to protect them."

"That does sound like the Fluorspar." Seth muttered before he drew himself up and said "Regardless of her reasons for being here, the fact remains that she is now gone and we can worry about the much simpler matter of removing the threat of those bandits, we should continue onto the battlefield now that the boy is healed."

Everyone became just that little bit more serious as Eirika nodded and said "You are right of course." Turning to the teen and his father, she said "Please stay here you two, you should be safe."

She didn't wait for a response, instead drawing her sword and charging towards the fight, Naruto quickly taking position in front of her to lead the way with Franz and Seth at his side, the Frelians formed their own formation with Moulder behind Vanessa and Gilliam. Because of their rapid departure, none of the group were aware of the rapid discussion that father and son had before the two began following to help. Well, no one but Naruto's two clones who looked at each other with exasperation before following from above in order to make sure the kid didn't get in over his head.

The group charged down a corridor more of Naruto's clones had shepherded the bandits into. Well, shepherded might not have been the right word, terrified might be a better choice. Eirika did not know what one of the blondes under her command could have done to make these rough and degenerate men have faces of such horror as they saw the original Naruto leading a group of soldiers towards them, but in the end she did not care to ask, more focused on preventing them from attacking anyone else ever again.

The first bandit literally on top of metaphorically lost his head as Naruto sliced through it with a wind sword and the one standing right next to him got a spear in the chest curtesy of Seth and his Silver Lance. Franz for his part started off by lopping off an archer's drawing arm with his Iron Sword and Eirika provided said archer the dubious mercy of a pierce straight through the heart with her Rapier, the princess spinning in order to draw her blade from the body in a way that would allow her to keep up her momentum.

Ten bandits in, Naruto's head twitched and as he sliced a bandit from groin to crown called behind him "One of my clone teams just spotted the man they believe is the leader of this group. He's halfway up the nearby mountains' foothills." He paused just long enough to launch a miniature wind dragon at an archer who was up in a tree trying to line up a shot on Vanessa before he continued "Once this is over we should be able to question him on where their base is."

"Very good, what about the village to the south?" Seth called back as he kicked a man with an armored covered foot hard enough that not only was his jaw broken but he was flung into the tree directly behind him with another cracking sound showing that he would NOT be getting up again anytime soon if ever.

"Five bandits killed, no civilian fatalities although one of the buildings was on fire when the clones got there. My clones managed to reach it fast enough by going by air." Naruto reported as he ducked under a hand ax, grabbing it by the handle so that it wouldn't hit Eirika instead and then was kind enough to return it to the bandit as he poured wind chakra into it before slamming it in an overhead swing down on his crown and going all the way to his chest.

All of the non shinobi wondered what he meant by his going by air comment but put it out of their minds to instead focus on the battle that they were still in. Their combat charge lasted another twenty minutes, the amount of targets dropping rapidly during the second half of said charge before Vanessa got one last axe wielding brigader on a tree branch that was planning on a drop ambush and Naruto said "That's all of them."

The three groups of fighters stopped running and Naruto noted how the boy leaned forward with his hands on his knees panting and Eirika and Moulder began taking in slightly gasping breaths as they leaned against nearby trees. Even Gilliam seemed slightly out of breath though he remained vigilant as he began observing the larger surroundings along with Seth, Franz, and the boy's father, Vanessa heading high above the tree tops for a better vantage point.

Ten seconds later, there was another whirlwind of leaves in their midst causing most of them to jump, Eirika actually putting a hand on her chest where her heart was. As the leaves fluttered to the ground Seth muttered to himself "That's going to take some getting used to." He then focused on the clone that had just arrived, and more importantly, the man bound hand and foot in shinobi wire with a rag stuffed in his mouth. The clone looked at everyone evaluating how they were looking at him and his prize before he shoved him onto the ground none too gently and said "General Seth, would I be correct in assuming you would like to handle the questioning of this piece of scum?"

"Yes you would, my thanks for bringing him." Seth said as he dismounted and idly cracked his knuckles as he stalked over and Naruto had the satisfaction of hearing the man gulp as his eyes widened. Seth grabbed the man by the back of his dirty shirt and dragged him a short distance away. The father took a step after him before he hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking to his son, then they hardened and he stalked after the red haired general causing most to look after him in confusion.

Naruto waited only until he was sure the two men and their interrogee were out of earshot before he said "So was I the only one to notice that that man had a tattoo on his right shoulder that is the same mark as the one on Seth's right gauntlet?"

Franz did a spit take from where he had been taking a drink from his water skin, the young knight staring at Naruto with wide eyes before shifting his eyes to where said man had gone and Eirika did a full body jerk as her eyes widened in surprise. Even the Freleians present had surprised expressions on their faces. Almost as one, everyone gathered looked over towards the son who seemed slightly startled at being put on the spot but quickly rallied as he straightened with a proud look on his face as he said "My father is a great warrior, a former soldier of the Renaisian Army."

"And he's been teaching you how to fight it seems." Naruto's voice came from a tree top and everyone looked to see the two clones that had been shadowing said son and father pair. The clones hopped down from the tree and walked over as he continued "Kid took down no less than eight bandits by himself." He and his fellow clone dispersed himself, the clone that had brought the bandit leader doing the same and Naruto let out a slight whistle as he went over the memories and said "Not bad kid."

Said kid stared wide eyed and low jawed as he pointed at Naruto and then where his clones had been as he said "But you, and them, and… I thought you were all identical brothers!"

"Nope, I can make copies of myself." Naruto said cheerfully before he turned and the others followed his gaze to see Seth and the father approaching them, the bandit leader noticeably NOT with them.

Seth walked over to Eirika and said "Your highness, we now know where the bandits' headquarters are. They're in the Borgo region of the nearby mountains."

Naruto unsealed a map that had been part of his information package and scanned it, ignoring the looks father and son gave him at the act, he said "Looks like it's not much of a detour on the way to Grado your highness, we'll only loose a day or two if we hard march it."

"Then that is where we are going, but first, there is another matter I wish to attend to." Eirika said before turning towards the father and son and said "You two have fought valiantly, can we impose on you to lend your strength to Renais?"

The kid looked like he was going to agree then and there but the father put his hand on his shoulder stopping him as he considered the group with steeled eyes. Seth stepped forward and said "Master Garcia, we would be honored to have you with us, and our task would be much easier with you and your son by our side."

Garcia sighed and said "I'm sorry. I'm retired now. I'm not a soldier anymore. It's…a decision I made a long time ago." "Master Garcia…" Seth started only to be interrupted as the man held up the hand not on his son's shoulder and continued ""…When I was a soldier, I lived my life fighting for my country's honor. I left no time for my family. I spent my life fighting for faceless, uncaring nobles. When my wife fell ill and died, I met the child she had left behind… At that moment, I finally realized what my duty had cost me." Eirika was silent as she listened, though her face showed compassion to the man's plight as he continued to speak "I stood at my wife's grave and promised her I would be a father to our son. I'm done with armies. I'm done with fighting, except to protect my son. I've no regrets. I'm the boy's father."

Ross had been listening to his father with slowly mounting anger that suddenly peaked at the end and roughly jerked away from Garcia's hand to glare at him as he said ""You…you blasted fool! Father, what's all this nonsense I'm hearing?"

"Ross!" Garcia barked in surprise at his son's words.

Ross narrowed his eyes as he said "If you're not going, then I will! I'm a fighter! I know I can do this!" "Ross, what are you saying? I.." Garcia asked only to be interrupted himself as Ross continued "Dad, please! Listen to me! I respect you more than any other man in the world. I know you gave up being a soldier for me. I know that! But how can you throw away such a big part of yourself? You're a warrior at heart! You can't give that up and be happy! Look at me, Dad! Have you seen me fight? I'm not a child anymore. I'm a warrior, like you. You're free to worry, but I can survive on my own!"

"…Ross." Garcia said an expression on his face that showed he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

Ross seemed to take that as a challenge as he said "You want to challenge me, Father? I'm a fighter! The best in all of Ide! I'm not gonna lose to you! I'm not gonna lose to anyone!"

There was a moment where nothing was said before Garcia chuckled and said "You're right Ross, you're a good soldier." Turning to Eirika and Seth, the old soldier straightened and said "Princess Eirika, Sir Seth… If these old bones of mine can still serve, I'd like to join you. Looks like my boy grew up while I wasn't looking… He's tougher than I thought. He doesn't need my help. I've raised him as best I could, but he's right. I've nothing to fear. I should fight. I will fight."

Ross grinned and said "You can count me in too!"

Eirika returned his grin with beautiful smile as she said "Of course, we'd love to have both of you with us." Seth gave a nod of his own with a small smile also on his face.

Naruto let out a soft heh sound as the numbers of their small group grew before he stepped forward and said "Now that that has been taken care of, let's hunt some bandits."

Eirika nodded and said "Right, to the Borgo region, it is time to show these bandits that they can no longer get away with harassing Renaisian citizens."

END

Not QUITE how I like it, the previous version of this was a bit more…detailed, but this is pretty good as well.


	4. Chapter 4

4\. The Bandits of Borgo

Story Start: Bandit Hideout

Naruto gave the derelict fortress the bandits had taken over as a base a look of such loathing an outsider could be excused for thinking that it had somehow killed his puppy and then pissed on its corpse in front of him. Sneering in contempt, he said " _THIS_ is what those bandits considered a good base?"

Next to him Ross nodded with a just as disgusted look and said "If I had to choose between this and a tree to spend a single night in I'd grab some boards and put them over a couple of branches. This place isn't even worthy to house a water barrel with just a few drops left in it."

"Got that right son." Garcia growled, the former and now reinstated soldier giving the fortress his own look of disdain.

Back with the rest of Eirika's group, said princess was speaking with a pair of teens, a pink haired archer named Neimi and a blue haired thief named Colm. Her group had met the two on the way here and their agendas currently matched since the bandits had stolen a mirror from Neimi that had belonged to her mother. Seeing as how the pair were the only survivors of their village Lark, Eirika was giving the pair the equivalent of an on site job interview, allowing them work with her forces in order to see if it would be 'safe' to let them join their mission. (Safe of course being a relative word during times of war.)

A minute later though, the princess and her general came to the front and the bluenette nodded to Naruto as she said "Alright Naruto, make us a door please."

"Won't be too hard." Naruto groused before he shoved his hand forward and shot out pure wind chakra at the decrepit fortress entrance. The door, and ten feet of stone on either side of the door, fell inwards without a single ounce of protest breaking apart into dozens of pieces upon landing even as it flattened the 'guards' who had been sleeping on either side of the door on the other side. At the sight, Naruto glanced upwards and muttered under his breath something that sounded suspiciously to Eirika like "Sage help me from idiotic bandits."

Shaking off her question of just why a sage would be revered like a god, Eirika gave a quick follow me gesture and said "Come on everyone!"

The Princess quickly sprinted towards the entry way, Naruto and Seth on either side of her with the others not far behind. Soon as they were in they saw a group of five bandits rushing towards them from down the hallway. That wasn't what caught Naruto's attention though, instead it was the four bandits who rushed up to the large holes in the wall right next to the group with throwing axes. Four kunai, one to each bandit's throat solved that problem and he said "Huh, guess they have a reason for using this place after all."

"Looks like it, everyone be mindful of the walls!" Garcia called out as the other group was quickly taken care of and the group began making their way further into the structure, a group of four shadow clones quickly checking each hole in the wall so that way the more valuable non shinobi fighters wouldn't get taken out by anyone trying to be sneaky. Good thing too since an archer with twitchy fingers managed to take one out from where he was hiding in the back of a dark room. Said archer got a mini wind dragon for his troubles from the clone's vindictive brother. After that Ross who had been eagerly moving at the front of the formation made a point of giving the clones five steps between them rather than two.

The group soon came across a treasure room where there was a large collection of valuables stored with six chests in the middle of the floor with heavy pad locks on them. As the soldiers quickly secured the room Colm strode over to the chests and made short work of the lock on the first one. Popping open the lid, he let out a whistle and said "There must be at least five hundred gold in here!" Quickly opening the others revealed even more gold and he said "A guy could live pretty comfortably for a couple months with this much gold."

"Only a couple of months?" Ross asked incredulously as he looked at more gold than he ever saw in his entire life combined.

"Well half of it would go into the small mansion I'd buy." Colm said with a shrug.

"Hold that thought until after all of the fighting stops." Naruto advised as he quickly closed the chests and sealed them and everything else in the room into a sealing scroll.

"Hey!" Colm yelped at the sight of everything rapidly disappearing.

"Save it, Naruto's right." Seth said with a disapproving frown causing Colm to shrink back a little at the look on the general's face.

"As amusing as this is, it sounds like we have company coming." Moulder said.

Sure enough, there were shouts coming from the hallway leading further into the fortress and several bandits came rushing towards them screaming for them to get away from their loot, that was theirs, they had rightfully stolen it, yadda, yadda, yadda. Their shouts were rather abruptly cut off when Neimi put an arrow into each bandit's right eye, the archer reclaiming her arrows with a grimace as the group moved past the corpses.

A couple of minutes later, the group reached a rather large open room that held no less than fifty bandits waiting for them with weapons in hand and a BIIIG guy sitting on the throne like chair at the back wall with a just as big steel axe in one hand and a throwing axe in the other. Standing up with a sneer, he said "I'm the head of this bandit pack, the mighty Bazba! And you all have made the monumental mistake of attacking us in our home! Hope you've enjoyed your lives 'cuz their about to end! Gettem Boys!"

The bandits all let out cheers and rushed towards the group. Seeing this, Eirika yelled "Naruto, clear a path to the leader!" Her response was Naruto shooting forward with a pair of wind blades in hand, his clones hanging back with the others as he carved a bloody path to Bazba, Eirika right behind him. Any bandit that tried to turn around to go after them wound up with an arrow in their back and the others weren't any better off either, the fighters forming a line under Seth's orders and easily holding it against the much more numerous but sadly more inferiorly trained bandits.

As soon as they were clear of the other bandits Eirka said "He's mine!" and Naruto sidestepped and allowed the Princess to overtake him.

Bazba in turn gained a blood thirsty grin and said "C'mere girly!" The Bandit leader leapt forward swinging his large axe down in a strong overhead that Eirika dodged with a twist of her torso and quick step over before she struck out with her rapier. Bazba countered with his hand axe only for Eirika to use the momentum of the block to swing her rapier downwards and stabbed it into Bazba's left foot. The bandit leader howled out in pain and rage before he tried to bisect his smaller opponent with his bigger axe. Eirika leapt back out of the way though and the missed swing left him wide open as she quickly jumped right back into the fight and pierced his chest with the rapier.

Bazba's eyes widened and he coughed up blood. Slowly sinking to his knees, he said "I'm the…mighty…Bazba..This….ain't-" He didn't get any further as he finally hit the floor and died.

"Not bad princess." Naruto said with a grin and Eirika nodded before the two looked over to their companions in time to see Ross kill the last bandit with his hatchet buried in the man's throat. Pulling it out, the teen said "And that's why you don't mess with a true warrior!"

"Is anyone injured?" Eirika asked as she and Naruto walked back towards them.

A quick look between each other had Seth shaking his head and he said "We are all unharmed Princess Eirika."

"I'm glad." She said with a smile before she grimaced and said "But still, these bandits were burning out villages and stealing from our people without fear of reprisal. It isn't right."

"No, it isn't. It wasn't always like this, the knights used to protect the citizenry…However, with Renais in ruins and her army tattered, law and order are hard to find. It doesn't look like the Grado army is interested in maintaining order here either. If nothing changes, Renais will continue this sad plunge into savagery." Seth said with a large frown on his face.

"All the more reason to put an end to this war as quickly as possible then." Naruto said as his clones made sure that all of the bandits were dead.

Eirika nodded as her eyes steeled and she said "You are right of course. Let us keep moving then, my brother awaits."

End

Author's Notes: Update schedule and poll on my profile. Please take a minute to look at them.


	5. Chapter 5

5\. Ancient Horrors

Author's Notes: Thought I would do a little bit of mimicry of the source material with an Introduction at the start of the chapter. Let me know what you guys think.

 **Introduction:**

With the destruction of the Borgos Bandits, Eirika's group once more set their sights on the border town of Serafew. Thanks to Naruto's clones once more running patrols ahead of them, they were able to travel quickly without worry of running into any Grado soldiers, though the fact that said clones never ran into any patrols in the path of their route made both Naruto and Seth wary. Was Grado just not interested in land already taken over? Or was there something that they knew about that their group didn't? And if it was the second, then just _what_ awaited them in the ancient forest of Za'ha that they were now making their way through? Unfortunately, they didn't have long to find out.

 **Chapter Start:**

As Eirika was becoming rapidly familiar with, Naruto's stance suddenly went from casually dangerous to full on Shinobi mode. Seth caught his tensing as well and asked "What is it?"

"Scouting patrol just spotted a bunch of weird creatures two hundred yards ahead, and they seem to be heading towards a small village in the area."

"That doesn't sound good." Ross said with a frown on his face.

"Indeed. Naruto, what did these creatures look like?" Eirika asked even as she and the others began increasing their speed a little. Naruto's clones would keep the village safe if need be before they got there but it still made sense to pick up their pace given the fact that there were civilians in the danger zone.

Naruto made four shadow clones which turned into a floating eyeball with tentacles, some kind of zombie like figure, a second figure similar to the first only bigger with green skin and larger claws, and finally a skeleton holding a sword. The sight made Eirika gasp as she said "Fiends?! But those are supposed to only be legends!"

"Not anymore apparently." Seth said and they increased their pace again to a quick trot as the threat level seemed to rise and he said "Naruto, how many?"

Dismissing his transformed clones, Naruto said "Eight of those eyeball things, twenty of those zombie things, three of the mega zombies, and four of the skeletons. So thirty five total." After a moment, he said "Make that thirty one, one of my clones just got the four skeletons with an Area of Effect jutsu."

"Right, everyone be careful, these Fiends were said to have poison in their claws!" Eirika said and everyone shouted their acknowledgement as they rushed through the woods. A minute later, they came upon the battle area, Naruto's clones playing sniper up in the trees as they took potshots while traveling toward the village that was across a small river. They got eight of the zombies as they moved away before the rest of the battle group slammed into the enemy.

Naruto picked up the slack of his clones momentarily leaving by launching a Gale Palm jutsu catching most of the monsters flat footed. Seth, Franz, and Vanessa charged into their staggered ranks while Neimi sniped them from afar. Barely twenty seconds later the slower members of the fighters reached the battle group and added in as well, Naruto once more sticking close to Eirika as she battled against the enemy, once more taking it upon herself to go after the seeming leaders of this group, the three Mega Zombies which were moving as a single group. Naruto shot a Mini Wind Dragon jutsu at an eyeball monster when it tried to intercept them and it popped in a grisly mess, the two humans treading over its remains without hesitation.

The lead mega zombie roared at their approach raised its claws high as it shuffled at a slightly impressive jogging pace. That move left it wide open for Naruto's Wind Senbon that shredded its corpse body and it staggered back a step before Eirika got a stab into its chest causing it to fall down. The other two mega zombies both let out roars and came after them together so while Eirika dealt with one Naruto got the other, using an expanded Rasengan to shred its torso to pieces before blasting it into a tree trunk where it did NOT get back up. They both dealt with another 'normal' zombie each before there was suddenly a barrage of light and heat, Lightning and Fire spells slamming into the outer ranks of the monsters.

When Naruto and Eirika turned their sights there, they saw that two of his clones had returned with a red haired Monk and a purple haired Mage. The addition of Holy and burning magic made the eradication of the rest of the Fiends go much quicker and within only a minute all of the abominations were dead, or rather, dead _er_.

As everyone regrouped, Eirika approached the two new comers, she gave a slight bow of her head and said "My thanks for your aid, you two."

The Monk nodded and said "You are quite welcome madam, though I would like to say that I was just doing what I must. The temple had assigned me the task of cleansing the forest of those…things. This had actually been the last group we had known about so it is actually me who should be thanking you for your aid." The Monk then slightly widened his eyes as he said "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Artur, with me is my companion Lute."

The purple haired Mage gave the group a nod of her own before she locked her gaze on Naruto and said "So you are the one capable of creating independent copies and capable of superhuman feats of jumping large distances. _Fascinating_."

"Er, thanks?" Naruto more asked than stated, somehow feeling like a bug under a microscope with the way Lute was looking at him.

"Lute, you are being rude again." Artur lightly chastised his companion and said Mage blinked once before wordlessly going back to observing everyone around her.

Shaking his head, Seth said "We'd best burn the bones and other remains to ensure these monsters don't return."

Eirika shook her head and said "I still can't believe what we just fought."

Seth frowned and said "Agreed, but what really worries me is that those revenants are said to be the least of the dark creatures that had been under the Demon King's reign. And yet the weakest of them could outmatch any normal man. We cannot take this new enemy lightly."

Lute reentered the conversation there as she said "Oh, yes. There are much worse then those revenants and the entombed... Let's see, there's the bonewalkers, mauthe doogs, gargoyles, baels… Why, I'll bet you just about any creature of lore could be walking again. Yes, we're in for some trouble. Even my fabulous power may not be enough."

Artur gave Lute an exasperated look at her last sentence before he cocked his head and said "But I do find it strange that we only dealt with what amounts to the lower ranks of these beings. Yes, there was a large group of them in this forest, but none of the other creatures made an appearance as we were clearing out these woods."

"Mayhaps only the lower ranked enemies appearing is merely an omen of dark times coming." Lute theorized.

"That's one hell of an omen." Colm said even as Neimi bit her lip with worry and wrapped an arm around his own arm.

"Indeed." Naruto said, but before he could say anything else, one of his clones who had gone back up into the trees called down "Head's up, we've got company coming fast!"

"More Revenants?" Artur asked in alarm though he relaxed when the clone shook his head and said "Nah, these guys are human, don't look like they're Grado soldiers either."

Everyone turned towards where the clone indicated and soon enough, a green haired woman riding a horse while flanked by two men, one a rather large black haired fellow wielding an equally large axe while the other was a much more normal looking brown haired fellow that moved in a manner similar to Colm rapidly approached.

They stopped about fifteen feet away and the woman loudly proclaimed "Aha! Foul creatures, beware! I, L'Arachel, bestow upon you the honor at banishment at my blessed hands!" Everyone, even Lute stared at the young adult wondering if there was something wrong with her eyes. After a moment of silence, L'Arachel blinked a couple of times before she looked around and asked "Oh…Where are the monsters?"

"Well, we just finished a few minutes ago…" Eirika said a little awkwardly.

L'Arachel grinned and said ""Ah, glad tidings indeed! The heavens must be rejoicing! I am.. a tad disappointed however. After all, I did rush all the way here to show you the splendor of my might."

The big guy with the axe let out a bellowing laugh as he said "Gwah ha ha! It's a real shame, innit, Lady L'Arachel?!"

The other man grumbled to himself before he said ""What's shameful is the way you drag us around the countryside."

Eirika and Seth traded looks before Eirika said "Pardon me, but…who are you?"

The girl drew herself up with hand on bosom as she dramatically said "Me? Since you ask, please allow me to introduce myself. It is I, the true light and glory of the sacred realm of Rausten…"

Her introduction was interrupted by the big guy as he said "Stop! Lady L'Arachel, you mustn't continue! You cannot reveal your true identity here!"

L'Arachel looked a bit taken aback as she said "Oh, yes, you're right. Oh, I get so careless sometimes! Now, I must ride off in anonymity. Oh, how beautifully romantic!"

"Uh…Right." Eirika said getting more than a little confused as were the rest of her group sans Naruto. Said blonde merely glanced upwards in an abbreviated eye roll and thought to himself 'True light and glory of a sacred realm and riding with what looks like two bodyguards? Calling it now, High Priestess or Princess.' It would NOT be the first time Naruto dealt with royalty or others of high station hiding their identities, though admittedly _THOSE_ people were a lot better at not giving themselves away.

L'Arachel meanwhile had regained her pomp as she pointed at a seemingly random direction as she said "Fare thee well, strangers. Perhaps our paths will cross again. Come, Dozla! Rennac! We ride!"

The big guy, Dozla apparently said with another boisterous laugh. "Gwah ha ha! Let's go, Rennac!"

The other one, Rennac grumbled "All right,, all right." He wearily treaded after the other two grumbling under his breath.

After a moment of silence, Eirika tilted her head in confusion and asked "….What was _that_ about?"

"Don't think about it too much Eirika, you'll keep your sanity longer." Naruto advised before turning to the two magic users and said "Thank you again for your help you two. Unfortunately, our group must continue onwards."

"Of course, of course, just one question." Artur said with an understanding smile, when he received permission to continue, he turned towards Eirika and said "Your highness, may I request my companion and I join you on your adventure? I believe that our magic will be a great asset."

Eirika's eyes widened as she stuttered out "Wh-what did you call me?!" Everyone else also stiffened at her identity as royalty being known by these two strangers.

Artur waved a hand reassuringly as he said "Fear not, your secret is safe with us."

"I would still greatly like to know how you know said secret if you don't mind." Seth said dangerously.

Artur smiled and said "I remember her visit to the temple ten years ago, she has the exact same shade of hair as she did back then, not to mention the same style." Turning back to Eirika with a smile, he continued "And may I say that you have grown into a beautiful young lady Your Highness."

Eirika out and out blushed crimson as she said "M-many thanks."

Naruto snickered at that before he turned serious and said "We'll have to put you and Seth under disguise henges when we get closer to the border."

Eirika nodded, and Seth gave a firm nod as well before Eirika looked back towards Artur and Lute and smiled as she said "We'd be happy to have you two with us."

"Indeed, you will see just how fortunate you are to have me with you." Lute said and Artur let out a light groan as he said in exasperation "Lute, tone down the superiority complex please."

"A superiority complex implies that I am not superior." Lute said and Naruto couldn't help but snicker again at the matter of fact tone in her voice even as Artur groaned again and the group began heading South.

END

Author's Notes: Schedule Update and Poll are on Profile, please take a moment to see if poll has changed recently.

The ability to scout ahead sure is useful isn't it? Unfortunately next chapter that's not going to help much. Anyway, please let me know if you guys liked the introduction or if I should stop doing them.


	6. Chapter 6

6\. The Empire's Reach

Introduction: An ominous wave of dark creatures washes over the continent…Eirika's journey to link up with her brother, Ephraim, grows that much more dangerous. Nevertheless, her group presses onwards and soon they reach Serafew, located on the border of Renais and Grado. The people of both countries have long used the town as a meeting place. It once stood as a testimony to the friendship the two nations have shared over many years. But now, it is filled to the brim with Grado troops, and the chance of discovery is high. Thankfully, they have a shinobi in their group.

Story Start: The Border Town of Serafew

'I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I am _so_ glad he's on _our_ side.' Seth thought to himself as Eirika's whole group was allowed through the gates of Serafew, the fighters hiding in plain sight as guards for the wagons of the supply caravan King Hayden had provided and which had faithfully followed them right to the doorstep of Grado. He and Eirika had been stared at by all three of the _visible_ guards of the entranceway, and doubtlessly all of the _hidden_ guards as well, and they STILL hadn't been recognized, thanks to the jutsu that Naruto said everyone at his home were taught as _kids_. Seth didn't even want to begin considering what a nightmare it would be trying to catch shinobi infiltrators sneaking around his country doing who knows what during war time.

As soon as they had put a hundred yards between their group and the gate, the person sitting on the wagon seat he was in guard position of, a dirty blonde haired woman who only looked like Eirika through body type (and even that was slightly off) let out a sigh of relief as she said "I can't believe we pulled that off." Giving the also currently dirty blond general a shaky grin, she said quietly "Shinobi really are scary, aren't they 'big brother'?"

"Yes, yes they are." Seth said with a slight nod of agreement, once more looking forward as a red haired whisker less Naruto strode through the streets like he had been there multiple times, leading the supply caravan to an open area where merchant caravans were able to peddle their wares without leaving their wagons. There were a small number of Grado troops in the area, posted at each entrance as security.

Seth would have liked to just pass through the town, but Naruto had rightly pointed out how suspicious a supposed merchant caravan just passing through the town without spending at least a few hours to sell their wares while restocking on supplies would be. Plus, it would be a good chance to try and get some intel from the local Grado forces. Colm had already slipped away from the Caravan to do just that and before they had even entered the town, Naruto had sent a couple of clones into the city via having them transform into local bird life and fly overhead before transforming back in out of sight places. For the moment, it was a waiting game. But of course, you know what they say about the plans of mice and men.

There was a loud commotion as a cleric ran past one of the entrances to the merchant plaza, a squadron of Grado soldiers in pursuit. Eirika and the others watched in confusion as they passed before both her and Seth glanced at Naruto. Naruto in turn gave a nod, and a smokeless shadow clone appeared in the covered wagon behind Eirika to continue providing the princess protection before he quickly melted into the surrounding crowd to see what was going on.

Naruto caught up to the group of soldiers in front of a wide alleyway, the cleric backed up against the wall at the end. Clearly, she was just as new to Serafew as Naruto was if she had made the mistake of coming down this way. Naruto remained hidden behind a crate just behind the group and watched what was going on.

The leader of the squadron took a step past his men as he said "Traitor Natasha! Surrender peacefully. Come quietly, and you may have the chance to explain yourself before His Majesty."

The now named cleric shook her head in denial as she said "Wait, please. You must listen to me!"

The squad leader wasn't in the mood to listen though as he ordered "Take her."

"No, you must believe me! The emperor is not himself. You MUST be able to see that!" Natasha said in desperation.

All of the soldiers turned that much more hostile as the squad leader said "Impugn the emperor at your peril! We've been ordered to execute you if you offer any resistance. But your words condemn you!"

As swords and lances were readied, Naruto narrowed his eyes and thought 'I think this has gone on long enough.' Pulling a small orb out of his pocket, Naruto threw the orb into the ground. The smoke bomb went off instantly filling the alleyway with smoke drawing cries of surprise from the soldiers. It cleared a few seconds later just as rapidly as it appeared, but by that time Natasha was gone, and the squad leader snarled as he said "She couldn't have gotten far, find her!"

As the soldiers stormed out of the alleyway, up on the roof of one of the buildings forming the alley, hiding behind the chimney, Naruto smirked as he held Natasha around the waist, one hand lightly held over her mouth to keep her silent for the moment and said to her quietly "Shinobi Rule #17, guards never look up." Natasha gave him a scared look out of the corner of her eyes but the fact that this man had saved her from the soldiers kept her from trying to escape for the moment. That and they were two stories up on a slanted roof, she didn't want to fall. As soon as the soldiers were out of the immediate area, Naruto nodded and removed his hand from her mouth as he said "Alright, they're gone."

"Thank you for saving me, but who are you?" Natasha asked, twisting her body as much as she dared so that way she could get a better look at his face.

"Oh, just someone with a set of unusual skills." Naruto said with a smile. He gave the area behind the chimney another glance before he looked back at her and said "My group is a resistance cell from Renais, will you come with me to explain your tale?"

Relief filled Natasha's eyes as she asked "Truly, you are from Renais?! Please, take me to the others of your group, there is something I must desperately tell your leader!"

Naruto nodded and said "That's the plan."

Five minutes later, Naruto and a now red haired Natasha were back with the others, Eirika and Seth sitting with the pair in the lead covered wagon so that way they were out of sight of anyone who could potentially lip read from a distance. Seth naturally approved of Naruto's paranoia. What he didn't approve of quite so much was when Eirika leaned forward and said "I am Princess Eirika of Renais, please, Cleric Natasha, if you have any information about why the Emperor is doing this then tell us."

Natasha blinked in confusion then narrowed her eyes slightly in order to better scrutinize Eirika as she asked " _You're_ Princess Eirika? But I thought-" She cut herself off as Naruto gave a slight cough. When she saw him point at her recently color changed hair, she nodded and said "Oh, I see. Of course you would be disguised this far behind enemy lines." She fingered her own hair for a moment before she shook her head from whatever thoughts she was having and said "As for the Emperor… I was a servant of the people at Grado's Imperial Temple. A few days past, my mentor was arrested without warning. The soldiers executed him. They said he was a traitor... but those were false accusations. The emperor had him killed – a holy man! – to keep him silent."

"Silent?" Seth asked with narrowed eyes.

Natasha nodded as she said "Yes. My mentor told me with his final breath. The emperor plans to destroy the Sacred Stones."

'I can hear the capital letters in those two words.' Naruto thought even as Eirika's eyes widened and she gasped out "The Sacred Stones? Destroy them?!"

Natasha gave a nod as she continued "As you must know, the Sacred Stones drove back the power of evil long ago. Even now, each of our nations is home to one of these legendary treasures. There's one in my homeland, Grado, and one in your Renais…"

Eirika nodded and said "Yes, the Sacred Stone of Renais is still housed in our royal temple."

"The emperor plans to destroy the five stones, one by one…" Natasha said looking down.

"Why would he do such a thing? Legend says the Sacred Stones are even now all that keep evil at bay!" Seth asked incredulously.

Natasha sadly shook her head and said "I cannot begin to guess his motives .. You must know, our emperor was a gentle man. But one day, he changed. Utterly. Before my mentor died, he said the keepers of the Sacred Stones must be warned. I tried to slip across the border, but the soldiers spotted me, if Naruto hadn't rescued me…"

The shudder she gave said exactly what she believed would have happened to her and Eirika reached forward to gently squeeze one of her hands in support. Before anything else could be said though, Franz said from outside the wagon "Sir, ma'am, soldiers have entered the plaza and are having all of the merchants assemble in front of their wagons while the soldiers search them."

"They're looking for me." Natasha said, alarm beginning to build in her eyes.

"They won't discover you." Naruto said, squeezing her shoulder in reassurance as he stood up to exit.

"And even if they do, we'll protect you." Eirika said with a nod as she and Seth also stood up. Natasha shot them a thankful smile before she took a fortifying breath and followed them out of the wagon.

The Grado soldiers were being thorough, examining everyone in the plaza and going through every wagon and looking under all of them as well. When the soldiers reached their group, the person leading them instantly zeroed in on Natasha's clerical robes and she flinched as he reached forward and rubbed her hair between a pair of his fingers. But when they didn't come away red, he decided that her hair _wasn't_ dyed and he moved on, Natasha sagging in relief, and Naruto put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close, the perfect picture of a brother comforting his sister.

Finally the soldiers left the plaza and Natasha gave a deep sigh of relief. She stiffened though when a voice said from right behind their small group "Well that was close, nice job with the disguise Naruto."

"Colm." Naruto said with a nod, the only one to have noticed the thief slip into their midst after the soldiers had moved on from their caravan. Being able to sense negative emotions were pretty good for that kind of thing, and Colm was practically boiling under that calm exterior he was projecting.

"What do you have to report?" Seth asked, all business. If the fact Colm had gotten so close without his notice bothered him, the general didn't show it, Eirika though had put a hand over her chest from being startled.

Colm frowned and said "It ain't good to be known as being from Renais if you live here. The Grado soldiers are led by a fanatic named Saar who believes that anyone not of Grado heritage is less than human. They've singled out families from Renais for some pretty bad stuff. And I mean War Crime level bad."

"No." Eirika said, concern for her countrymen in her eyes.

Seth frowned and said "Something must be done, but to draw attention here, at the border…"

"Not a good idea." Eirika said in agreement before her eyes hardened and she said "But I will not allow my countrymen to suffer under a tyrant when I can relieve their suffering, even for a short while. I apologize Natasha, but it seems we can no longer continue hiding. This blackheart Saar shall fall this day, along with any of his soldiers who get in the way."

"I understand Your Majesty, and though it saddens me to turn against my fellow citizens of Grado, you shall have my support." Natasha said with a nod, her own eyes filled with resolve.

"Shall I drop the Henges once we've dealt with the guards here?" Naruto asked and Eirika gave a decisive nod as she said "Yes, I want the soldiers here to know that we from Renais will not take what they have done lying down."

Naruto nodded and left enough shadow clones to ensure that their supply caravan would be kept safe before they split up. A quick moment of battle planning later, Eirika, Seth, Naruto, and Natasha moved towards one entrance while the rest of their group went for the opposite side of the plaza. It was decided that three groups would attack in order to split the forces in the city, the third being composed of a four man team of Naruto's clones. If either of the teams without Eirika in it found Saar then he was to be captured alive. For his crimes against her people the princess wanted to end him herself, which would also make a pretty nice statement to the rest of the soldiers in the area that they were dealing with a pissed off royal and that it wasn't just Ephraim's group they had to worry about now.

The soldiers guarding the plaza had all turned outwards once the searching ones had searched everyone, more concerned with threats coming from the rest of the town then the people they now considered not a threat. They paid for that mistake with their lives, being killed from behind without even knowing what did the deed. More than one panicked cry came from the gathered merchants when some of their number saw the brutal act and Naruto took that as his cue to drop the transformation techniques. Eirika seized the moment and jumped up on a nearby barrel so a good majority of people could get a look at her and cried out with Rapier held high "FOR RENAIS!" The next instant she was off the barrel and running down the street, the other three members of her group hot on her heels.

Thanks to one of Naruto's shadow clones popping off a few red flares it didn't take long for alarm bells to ring, informing all of the soldiers that the town was under attack. Was it wise to be the ones to alert the whole force of enemy soldiers stationed there of the attack? Probably not, but it made sure that they got every single one of them that was stationed here for combat, and maybe even one or two of their logistics group as well.

Ten minutes in, Naruto round house kicked a Grado soldier into the wall of a nearby house, a loud crunch showing that at least his nose was broken, and most likely a piece of his skull as well before he heard Natasha give a soft gasp and said "That man…"

Humming, he glanced at her and followed his eyes and saw a man with long red hair and a Killing Edge in his right hand, though it was kept in a non aggressive position by his side as he meandered down the street. The man gave a few of the downed soldiers an uninterested look as he strolled by them before looking at the Renaisian party and said "Well now, this is certainly interesting, and here I thought I only had the Arena to look forward to in these parts."

"You…You're that man I met…Are you here to capture me? You've been hired to silence me, haven't you…" Natasha asked, an uncertain look in her eyes that said she wasn't quite so certain the man would follow through with it.

The man shrugged and said "Yeah, Grado's paying the bill. They want you dead, you know? But don't feel bad. It's not personal."

"Just because it's not personal doesn't make the fact that the other person is probably going to die go away you know." Naruto said, forming a Wind Blade in his right hand that would slice through the myrmidon's sword like butter if it came down to it.

The man gave the Wind Blade an evaluating look as he said "Hm, well there's something you don't see everyday."

But as he brought his sword up to an attacking stance, Natasha said "Wait, please… It doesn't matter what happens to me, but you must hear my words. The emperor of Grado is changed. He is not the man he once was. The other nations must be warned before he extinguishes all light from our lands."

He shrugged again and said "Hey, no offense, but I'm just a mercenary. I don't care about Grado or its emperor. Everything you say may be true, or it may be lies. I don't care either way." Natasha's troubled "But that's-" was interrupted as he sighed and said "Even so…killing a beautiful lady like you would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Tell me, do you like to gamble?"

Natasha's expression turned dumbfounded as she asked "What?!" Naruto meanwhile hummed as he thought to himself 'So he's one of THOSE kinds of people. This should be interesting.' Thankfully, Eirika and Seth were willing to stay out of this, instead making sure that no one was trying to sneak up on the group from behind, though both were clearly listening to the discussion.

The man smirked as he pulled a coin out of his pocket with his left hand and said "Gambling's what I live for. Even when I lose, I never want to stop. Let's have us a little wager. If you win, I'll believe you. Heads or tails, you call it."

"You can't…This is no times for games…" Natasha said with a frown.

"Would you rather I get on with the job I was hired for?" The man asked, his blade twitching threateningly.

Natasha swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them and said "Um, heads…No! Tails!"

"Alright, so I'm heads, and you're tails. Here we go….." He flipped the coin up into the air and with ease of long practice caught it without actually looking. Opening his fist he frowned slightly at what he saw.

Biting her lip, Natasha asked "Which…which is it?"

The man glanced up at her with a smirk and said "What do you know?! It's tails. You win. Figures. I haven't won anything all day. Well, Lady Luck has spoken. Guess I'm on your side now."

"Are you serious?!" Both Natasha and Eirika asked at the same time with wide eyes, and even Seth had risen an eyebrow. Naruto was the only one who didn't react with surprise, mostly because he had seen a bored freelancer pull the same stunt on whether or not the two of them would be fighting when their mission objectives crisscrossed each other on a mission a year ago.

The man nodded and said "Yeah. Sure, I might cheat, but I never worm out of a bet. It's a rule of mine."

Natasha sagged in relief and said "Oh, thank heaven! Thank you, blessed light, for your protection!"

The man shrugged a third time and said "I got nothing against heaven, but I'm right here if you want someone to thank."

Naruto smirked as he dismissed the Wind Blade and said "I'll thank you for being a man guided by luck. What's your name anyway?"

"It's Joshua." The man said, tipping his hat.

Eirika shook her head and said "That has got to be the most surreal recruitment I have other seen."

Naruto snorted and said "Not for me, I once saw a guy agree to fight in a battle for a loaf of bread. Though to be fair, the bread had melted hazelnut baked into its middle."

Even Joshua stared at him at that, a red eyebrow raised before the sound of a fireball detonating in the distance reminded them that they were in a battle and everyone shook themselves as Joshua fell into formation beside Naruto and the group continued down the street to look for more soldiers.

Thirty minutes later, the groups had merged back together in front of the town's Arena. Saar was stripped of all weapons and armor, now wearing only a shirt and pants on him, and even that was because no one wanted to see an old man in only his underwear. His hands were bound behind his back and he was kept on his knees by dent of the kunai held to his neck by one of Naruto's clones. The squad had torn through the men surrounding the captain like a twister through a trailer park and all of the bruising covering his face and arms showed that they hadn't been gentle in capturing the enemy commander either.

Several Renaisian civilians were watching as Eirika strode forward to stand in front of Saar and said "Captain Saar of the Grado Empire. You are accused of committing War Crimes against the people of Renais. How do you plead?"

Saar sneered and said "War Crimes implies that you Renaisian dogs have rights. You are nothing compared to the men and women of the Emperor's glorious Grado!" His following spit at Eirika's boots got him a vicious back hand from one of Naruto's clones that threw his head to the side. Saar slowly turned his head back, his mouth working before he spat out a tooth to the side even as he kept glaring at Eirika in defiance.

Eirika's eyes closed for the briefest moments before they opened again, revealing a glacial fury that would have made even the most brutal Ice style user shiver as she said "Very well, since you obviously have no regrets for what you have done, then judgement shall be passed. I only wish we had the time to make you truly suffer for what you have done. Unfortunately, we do not have time to dawdle." So saying, she drew her Rapier and stabbed him right in his black heart.

Saar grunted and with his last breath said "Emperor Vigarde…Glory to His…Majesty." He then toppled over to the side and the Renaisian civilians all let out a cheer at the sight of their oppressor receiving justice. Eirika though had a frown on her face as she cleaned her blade on Saar's shirt then sheathed it, turning around and striding away from the body.

Naruto watched as an older man approached to speak with her before he turned back towards the still warm corpse and said "A burial is far more than you deserve." So saying, he ran through five hand signs while his clones formed a quick scent blocking barrier then blew an intense stream of fire at the body which immediately ignited. Within half a minute, there were only ashes on the ground which Naruto blew away with a low powered wind jutsu.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish." Colm said from where he held Neimi close, the Archer having buried her head in his shoulder to avoid the sight of the body burning. Most of the rest of Eirika's group let out agreeing sentiments.

Before anything else could be said though, Naruto's earlier two clones dispelled and his head jerked up before he turned to Eirika and said "Princess Eirika, my clones have intel on where your brother is."

"Truly?" Eirika asked eagerly. At Naruto's nod, Seth stepped forth and asked "Where?"

"Renvall."

END

And that is Chapter Five of Sacred Stones. Next Chapter is Ephraim's group. Make sure to look at my profile for the Update Schedule along with the Poll. At the time of posting this it is to decide which story takes up Flesh To Metal Version 2's slot once I write it's last chapter so you definitely want to give your input for that.


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